4 AM
by Red Bess Rackham
Summary: At 4 in the morning, someone Peter thought was gone forever pays him a little visit. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Heroes_. There wouldn't be quite so many loose ends if I did.

**A/n:** I am a new _Heroes_ fan (and have not yet watched most of season 3 as of this moment, so no spoilery reviews please!) so this is my first adventure into the _Heroes_ fandom. The idea for this little oneshot is loosely based on a random _Heroes_-infused dream I had last night, plus the information that (I've been told) that a certain plot point involving a certain Hero and his once-upon-a-time Irish girlfriend travelling to the future only to be seperated as not ever been resolved or touched on. And I searched for other Caitlyn fics and found not even _one_ (unless I wasn't looking hard enough) which was shocking to me. So, I present a therefore AU-ish little fic. _Warning_: Darkness ahead. :)

* * *

Peter lay wide awake, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. He guessed it might be about four in the morning.

Then there was slight noise. Small and quiet – he almost missed it; it was probably nothing. He'd had more than enough experience with little noises, however. It was never small and it was never nothing. So while he remained still, he reached out with his senses and powers to find out what had caused the noise. When he felt the presence, he sat bolt upright in his bed, his heart hammering wildly.

_It couldn't be._

He looked up as a shadowy figure rounded the corner and stayed just out of the light from a streetlight filtering in through the half-closed blinds. Peter swallowed.

"Is it really you?" he whispered.

"Hello Peter." The Irish lilt in her voice left no more doubt in his mind.

He turned on his bedside lamp. Relief and excitement washed through him. She was here, standing in his shadowy doorway. He remembered kissing her, holding her…

"How've you been?" she asked.

He smiled a little. "Never better."

There was a moment of silence where Peter thought of a thousand and one things to say, yet none would leave his mouth. He waited for her to speak.

"You left me there, Peter." She finally said. "You just… _left_ me there." The pain in her voice cut him deeply.

The moment he'd accidentally transported away from her had never stopped haunting him. One thing after another pushed him farther and farther away from getting back to her, until he'd lost hope he could ever get her back at all. He gave up on ever seeing her again.

"I'm so sorry." He meant it with all his heart.

"Sorry." She scoffed. "Sorry. Yeah, it'd be nice if a little 'sorry' could erase everything I had to see - everything I had to do. You're '_sorry'_."

"I _am_."

"Did you ever really care about me, Peter?"

"Of course I did."

"Then why didn't you come after me?"

"I…" That was a very, very long story and one he knew would never satisfy her even if he took the time to tell it. "I had to save the world."

"Right. Of course. Save the world."

She paused and then suddenly came several angry steps towards him. He was shocked by her appearance. Her long, wavy brown hair was gone; her head had been shaved. Her eyes were dark and sunken, full of horrible, haunted pain. She had several deep scars across her face and bare arms and her clothes were ill-fitting and filthy.

"Caitlyn - "

"You just _left_ me there! You _left_ me to die! In a place I knew nothing about! You ripped me away from where I belonged and threw me into the most horrible kind of _hell_! Do you have any idea what happened after you disappeared? _Do you_!?"

Peter was at a loss. He had no idea. He didn't want to know. "Caitlyn, it's over. You're here now."

She shook her head. "It's not over. It'll never be over."

He reached for her hand. He wanted to hold her and figure out how to reverse the damage. She pulled away.

"Don't you _dare_." She reached behind her and pulled out a black gun.

"You can't shoot me. You know I can heal."

A tall, thin man stepped into the room behind Caitlyn. Peter suppressed a jolt of surprise. How come he couldn't hear that man coming?

One corner of her mouth quirked slightly. "Not every power is completely unique, Peter. Remember that shady dark man? You called him The Haitian?" She nodded her head to the man. "Same thing."

Peter swallowed uncomfortably. "Don't do this, Caitlyn. I can help you. I can reverse it, change it back. You never have to become like this."

"It's much too late for that." She whispered.

"It's never too late. Caitlyn…"

"Want to know the difference between you and me?" her eyes glittered angrily. "I'm not '_sorry_'."

She pulled the trigger… one… two… three…

**-end**-

* * *

**A/n**: Before you ask, I don't really know what happened to Caitlyn. This was just in my head with no pre-story/backstory or sequel/continuation. And now it's out. :P Thanks for reading and reviews are like oxygen! No season 3 spoiler-ish reviews, tho please (I'm on episode 7 and catching up quick, but not quick enough). :D


End file.
